DRINKING WATER
Empowering Water Utilities Through Meter Data
Modernizing water infrastructure requires robust digital systems to manage high-volume metering data. Centralizing this information enables precise leak detection, accurate water balancing, and proactive customer engagement, ultimately driving operational efficiency and long-term sustainability goals.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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![Greywater]( "Opportunities And Challenges In Decentralized Wastewater Reuse Applications")
Opportunities And Challenges In Decentralized Wastewater Reuse ApplicationsDecentralized wastewater management, when coupled with reuse or recycling of treated sanitary sewage, increases treatment options and creates even greater value than when employed alone.
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![GettyImages-1021102230_450_300]( "Managing Disparate Data In Leakage")
Managing Disparate Data In LeakageBy combining disparate data sources into a single system, water utilities can more easily glean insights and make more precise estimates about the size and location of leaks.
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![Castaic_Angelo PFR]( "How To Cannibalize Your Own Technology")
How To Cannibalize Your Own TechnologyBusiness people love to talk about "disruption." They pride themselves on eating their competitors' lunch. Where their markets used to be about raving fans, now it's about inspiring craving fans, fueled by "hunger marketing" and the fear of missing out. There's a lot of dog-eat-dog philosophy...which is why it's important for companies to be willing to cannibalize their own technologies.
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Case Study: Saudi Arabian Airport Successfully Uses Aquatech's Seawater Reverse Osmosis System India’s first Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) at Mundra in Coastal Gujarat, a 4,000 MW coal fired plant, is owned by Coastal Gujarat Power Limited (CGPL), a Tata Power group company.
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![flowIQ-updated-2]( "The Pitfalls Of Cellular AMI")
The Pitfalls Of Cellular AMIThis white paper aims to highlight crucial considerations for utilities contemplating cellular networks as the foundation of their communication systems.
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High Recovery Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment For Industrial, Agricultural, And Municipal Applications
Industry accounts for nearly 60 percent of fresh water withdrawals in the developed world and agriculture consumes 70 percent of fresh water supplies globally, according to UNESCO.
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![SWRO-facility]( "RO Membranes' Protection At SWRO Facility, Asia")
RO Membranes' Protection At SWRO Facility, AsiaAtlantium HOD UV systems provide effective RO membrane protection by combining ultraviolet water disinfection technology with hydraulic and optic principles.
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![TapTheCal.jpg]( "Proper Care And Calibration Of pH Sensors")
Proper Care And Calibration Of pH SensorsHere are some guidelines for everyday care, regular maintenance, and periodic calibration or replacement to assure optimum performance of pH instrumentation.
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![recycling sign.jpg]( "Reassessing The Value Of Water Reuse In Process Efficiency")
Reassessing The Value Of Water Reuse In Process EfficiencyIn many industrial applications, water is not part of the final product but an important process facilitator — for cooling, cleaning, etc. Like energy, it can quickly become a major expense and, therefore, an important target for cost control. As potable water supplies tighten or become increasingly expensive, reuse is becoming a more attractive alternative. Here is some of the information needed to evaluate the opportunities it offers.
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Santa Barbara, Curaçao Desalination Plant: Six Years Of Operation Of LG Chem Thin Film Nanocomposite (TFN) SWRO Membrane
The Santa Barbara desalination plant located in the south-eastern part of Curaçao provides drinking water to about half of the population of this Caribbean island. With an average precipitation of approximately 500 mm, rainwater is the only natural source of freshwater in the island. Government efforts to address the water shortage problem date back to the 20s of the last century. Initially based on evaporation, the seawater desalination evolved into the reverse osmosis technology in the 90s. After several years of experimenting with RO, Aqualectra, the municipal supplier of potable water and electricity for Curaçao, took the decision to move forward with this technology and in 2003 started a project to build a SWRO desalination plant.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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What Are You Doing To My Pipe: Can PVC Pipe Be Loaded?4/13/2021
The argument has been used that PVC pipe is delicate and can’t be subjected to any kind of loading. In EBAA's years of testing we have found that is not the case at all. PVC can take an extreme amount of strain.
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Fountain Testing Solutions10/29/2021
Accurate fountain (dampening) solution concentration control is essential for consistent, high-quality results in lithography. Low concentration can cause drying on the non-image area of the plate resulting in tinting, scumming, blanket piling, etc. High concentrations, on the other hand, bring about over-emulsification of the ink. This results in weakening of color strength and changes in ink rheology (body and flow properties). Correct concentration will allow the non-image areas of the plate to be appropriately wetted.
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Automatic Rinse Tank Controls10/29/2021
Proper rinsing is one of the most important steps in quality manufacturing or metal finishing. Plenty of low cost, good quality water for rinsing has been available in the past, so rinse water conservation has been largely ignored.
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Application Note: Turbidity Monitoring In Drinking Water Treatment Plants8/30/2005
Turbidity, or the relative clarity of a liquid (in this case drinking water), is caused by the presence of microscopic particles such as clay, silt, or other fine undissolved matter
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Removal Of Chloramines With Activated Carbon12/30/2013
In order to reduce the formation of harmful disinfection byproducts in drinking water, alternative disinfectant use has become increasingly widespread. Monochloramine is a leading alternative disinfectant that offers advantages for municipal water. This tech brief details the removal of monochloramine using activated carbon.
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How Activated Carbon Works To Purify Air And Water10/31/2019
The first step is to define the performance limiting factors in the application. For this application, most of the adsorber is used for MTBE adsorption in the ppb concentration range. Adsorption of BTEX, TBA, or humic acids or other total organic carbon (TOC) components are removed by the front end of the column.
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Pile Cloth Media Filtration Removes 97% Of Microplastics From Wastewater12/6/2023
Learn about filtering microplastics from industrial wastewater prior to discharge, and how this is one way to effectively reduce the volume of this waste material from entering our surface water.
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Oxidation Reduction Potential10/29/2021
What is ORP? Oxidation Reduction Potential or Redox is the activity or strength of oxidizers and reducers in relation to their concentration. Oxidizers accept electrons, reducers lose electrons. Examples of oxidizers are: chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, bromine, ozone, and chlorine dioxide. Examples of reducers are sodium sulfite, sodium bisulfate and hydrogen sulfide. Like acidity and alkalinity, the increase of one is at the expense of the other.
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Determination Of Hexanal In Foods Utilizing Dynamic Headspace4/9/2015
Hexanal is one of many well-documented aromatic components that contribute to flavor and aroma in common consumer food products containing omega-6 fatty acids. Hexanal content is also used to measure the oxidative status of foods rich in omega-6 fatty acids.
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Flow Meter Enhances Chlorination System Performance For Municipal Water Department12/12/2017
The water municipality at a mid-size city in the Western region of the U.S. serving a population of about 180,000 people needed to address a chlorine disinfection system problem at one of its water treatment plants.
DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS
The 14”– 16” Insta-Valve Plus 250 from Hydra-Stop is the next generation of permanent, insertable gate valves offering increased strength, improved performance, and simplified installation and operation.
Aria FAST mobile water units deliver the water you need, when and where you need it. Our mobile systems are easily installed and produce highquality water in as little as four hours after utility connections are complete.
E-Series® Ultrasonic water meters are designed for high measurement accuracy and long-term reliability. They are ideal for measuring potable cold water in commercial and industrial applications that experience wide and rapid fluctuations in water demand.
CHEM-FEED® CFPS Engineered Skid System ship fully assembled for simple drop-in-place install and fast startup. CHEM-FEED® CFPS skids are constructed of strong, light-weight chemical and UV resistant polyethylene and feature leak-free threadless connections. Pipe material options include PVC, CPVC, PVDF, and Chem Proline® (PE).
CHEM-FEED Skids are available in One, Two and Three Pump Models with your choice of Blue-White peristaltic or Diaphragm Metering Pumps.
BW DIGI-METER® Digital Paddlewheel Flow Meters are easy to install and operate, resulting in a very low overall cost of ownership. For accuracy, features, and ease of use, choose BW DIGI-METER.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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![brinewater_Getty-2234054563]( "Reclaiming Water From Contaminated Brine Can Increase Water Supply And Reduce Environmental Harm")
People around the globe are trying to figure out how to save, conserve, and reuse water in a variety of ways, including reusing treated sewage wastewater and removing valuable salts from seawater. But for all the clean water they may produce, those processes leave behind a type of liquid called brine. I’m working on getting the water out of that potential source, too.
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![Eelgrass Bed in Notojima island, Japan-GettyImages-651462262]( "Planting The Seeds Of Inspiration: Eelgrass Restoration")
Restoring eelgrass beds is critical because they provide habitat for many kinds of marine life, improve water quality by filtering out pollution, and the plant’s root system stabilizes the sediment on the seafloor, protecting shorelines from erosion.
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![LakeSuperior_Getty-1405284925]( "PFAS Are Turning Up In The Great Lakes, Putting Water Supplies At Risk — Here's How They Get There")
No matter where you live in the U.S., you have likely seen headlines about PFAS being detected in everything from drinking water to fish to milk to human bodies. Now, PFAS are posing a threat to the Great Lakes, one of America’s most vital water resources. -
![tractor_sludge_Getty-2155530305]( "Why Too Much Phosphorus In America's Farmland Is Polluting The Country's Water")
When people think about agricultural pollution, they often picture what is easy to see: fertilizer spreaders crossing fields or muddy runoff after a heavy storm. However, a much more significant threat is quietly and invisibly building in the ground. -
![EnvironmentPeople_004]( "Water In 2026: The Nexus Of Policy, Technology, And Resilience")
As water systems become more circular and complex, understanding and managing the subsurface — the hidden half of the water cycle — is becoming a critical enabler of resilience. This article explores the key trends shaping this new reality, from tackling “forever chemicals” to the water strategies redefining heavy industry. -
![Cutting Red Tape-GettyImages-502421630]( "How The NEPA Rollback Will Impact Water And Wastewater Industries")
The White House has finalized plans to roll back rules under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), narrowing its focus and limiting what the current administration claims are needless delays for federal approval of water, energy, and other infrastructure plans. For water and wastewater utilities, the changes could speed up permitting for critical projects, although experts warn the tradeoffs could do more harm than good.
DRINKING WATER VIDEOS
IPR'S CIPP liner system for gravity-flow sewers and culverts is the most proven, cost-effective trenchless pipeline rehabilitation system in the industry. It is also the most widely specified form of trenchless pipeline rehabilitation.
Discover how integrated membrane system designs can maximize the operating stability of EDI systems and reduce mixed bed regeneration frequency.
ABOUT DRINKING WATER
In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:
- Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
- Drinking water treatment of source water
- Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers
Drinking Water Sources
Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater.
Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.
Drinking Water Treatment
Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.
There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.
The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.
The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.
During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.
Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.
Drinking Water Distribution
Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.
A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.
Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.